1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stitchbonded nonwoven fabric, particularly such a fabric wherein the stitches of at least one yarn comprise a bicomponent polyester fiber of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(trimethylene terephthalate), to a process for making such a fabric, and to artificial leather and articles of manufacture comprising such a fabric.
2. Technical Background
Stitchbonding is a technique in which a nonwoven fabric can be inserted between the sinker loops and needle loops of a warp knit fabric composed of two yarns. For example, the use of spandex in making stitchbonded nonwovens has been disclosed in U.S. Patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,704,321, 4,737,394, 4,773,238, 4,879,169, 4,897,297, 5,041,255, 4,876,128, 4,998,421, in European Patent EP476,193B1, and in their Japanese counterparts. However, when such nonwovens are impregnated with a polyurethane resin solution to make artificial leather, the solvent for the polyurethane resin can degrade the spandex, and manufacturing conditions and product control can become difficult.
Artificial leather having stretch characteristics has been disclosed in United States Published Application US2003/162454. Laminated natural leather has been disclosed in United States Patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,056 but can be relatively costly.
Bicomponent fibers have been used in knits and nonwovens, as disclosed in United States Patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,922,433 and 6,668,598, British Patent GB1,421,694, United States Published Application US2003/0134094, and Japanese Published Application JP2000-336581A. Although knits can be used as a base fabric for stretchable artificial leathers, such fabrics must be modified to restrain elongation of the fabric in the longitudinal direction during processing. Further, napping, sanding, or buffing the knit fabric or a resin-coated coarse woven fabric (sometimes called a “butter muslin”) is required to improve adhesion and prepare the surface of the fabric before coating with a polyurethane.
There remains a need for a nonwoven fabric that does not require extra manufacturing steps to be suitable for use in manufactured articles including those comprising an artificial leather with stretch properties similar to those of natural leather.